Canadian Doubles, 1,000 metres, Men

The Soviet Union was the defending Olympic champion in the C-2 1000, but had experienced uneven success since, winning the World Championships in 1974, being runner-up in 1973, and coming in third in 1975. The nation was represented by Serhiy Petrenko and Aleksandr Vinogradov at the 1976 Summer Olympics and, especially after their victory in the C-2 500 the day prior to this event’s final, were considered gold medal contenders in this event. Romania had a history of success in this event as well, most recently with Gheorghe Danielov and Gheorghe Simionov, who were normally specialists in the C-2 500, but had been runners-up at the most recent World Championships. The reigning World Champion was Hungary, who sent Tamás Buday and Oszkár Frey, who took bronze in the C-2 500 the day before this final.

The Soviet Union set an Olympic record in the opening heats, defeating Romania and helping to relegate the Hungarian crew to the repêchage, where they not only advanced to the next round, but bettered the Soviets’ Olympic record. Poland’s Jerzy Opara and Andrzej Gronowicz, runners-up in both the C-2 1000 at the 1974 World Championships and the C-2 500 at the Montreal Olympics, won the other heat. Romania posted the fastest time in the semi-finals, besting Hungary in the process, while the Soviet Union and Poland took the other two heats. The final was fairly well spread out, with the Soviet Union, Romania, Hungary, and Poland finishing in that order with room to breathe.